Army chief admits failure to stop sexual abuse

FILE - In this April 26, 2013, file photo, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey speaks during his lecture at Joint Staff College in Tokyo. One after another, the charges have tumbled out _ allegations of sexual assaults in the military that have triggered outrage, from local commanders to Capitol Hill and the Oval Office. But for the Pentagon there seem to be few clear solutions beyond improved training and possible adjustments in how the military prosecutes such crimes. Changing the culture of a male-dominated, change-resistant military that for years has tolerated sexism and sexist behavior is proving to be a challenging task. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army’s top officer acknowledged on Thursday that his service is failing in its effort to stop sexual assaults, as he and the nation’s other top defense leaders were summoned to the White House to discuss the militarywide problem.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, issued a public message to all soldiers in which he said the “bedrock of trust” between soldiers and their leaders has been violated by a recent string of misconduct cases.

He said the Army demonstrated competence and courage through nearly 12 years of war. “Today, however, the Army is failing in its efforts to combat sexual assault and sexual harassment,” he wrote.

“It is time we take on the fight against sexual assault and sexual harassment as our primary mission,” he said.

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“We are entrusted with ensuring the health and welfare of America’s sons and daughters,” he added. “There are no bystanders in this effort. Our soldiers, their families and the American people are counting on us to lead the way in solving this problem within our ranks.”

President Barack Obama planned to meet Thursday afternoon with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the civilian and military leaders of each service and the military’s senior enlisted advisers to discuss the issue, the Pentagon announced. Vice President Joe Biden also was attending.

Allegations of sexual assault in the military have triggered outrage from local commanders to Capitol Hill and the Oval Office. Yet there seem to be few clear solutions beyond improved training and possible adjustments in how the military prosecutes such crimes. Changing the culture of a male-dominated, change-resistant military that for years has tolerated sexism and sexist behavior is proving to be a challenging task.

“We’re losing the confidence of the women who serve that we can solve this problem,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said Wednesday.

“That’s a crisis,” Dempsey said in remarks during a flight from Europe to Washington that were reported by the American Forces Press Service, which is the Pentagon’s internal news agency. Dempsey suggested that a deepening of the sexual assault problem may be linked to the strains of war.

“I tasked those around me to help me understand what a decade-plus of conflict may have done to the force,” he said. “Instinctively, I knew it had to have some effect.”

Dempsey added: “This is not to make excuses. We should be better than this. In fact, we have to be better than this.”

The Pentagon had scheduled a briefing for journalists Thursday with Hagel and Dempsey, but after the White House meeting was announced, they said the Pentagon news conference was being postponed until Friday.

As new sexual assault allegations emerged this week involving an Army soldier who was assigned to prevent such crimes — the second military member facing similar accusations — the Pentagon said Hagel is working on a written directive to spell out steps aimed at resolving the escalating problem.

But Obama, fuming at a news conference last week, warned that he wanted swift and sure action, not “just more speeches or awareness programs or training.” Sexual offenders need to be “prosecuted, stripped of their position, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged. Period,” he said.

“The president has made very clear his expectations on this issue,” said Pentagon press secretary George Little, adding that Hagel told Obama on Tuesday about an Army sergeant first class at Fort Hood, Texas, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct. The case involves the soldier’s activities with three women, including an allegation that he may have arranged for one of them to have sex for money, according to a defense official.

Those allegations come on the heels of a Pentagon report last week that estimated that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, based on survey results, out of 1.4 million in the services.

That report, and a recent series of arrests and other sexual assault problems across the military, have triggered a rush of initiatives from the Pentagon and proposed legislation on Capitol Hill.

But experts warn that stemming an increase in assaults will require concrete changes, both in law and in military culture.

“There is not a quick fix,” said Anu Bhagwati, former Marine captain and executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network. “The military can’t train its way out of this problem.”

According to Little, Hagel is considering changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice that would prevent commanders from reversing sexual assault convictions, along with other efforts to improve training, assist victims and strengthen discipline.

Hagel has also ordered the retraining, recertifying and rescreening of all sexual assault prevention and response personnel as well as military recruiters, who also have been accused in recent sexual misconduct cases.

“He is going to spare no effort to address the problem,” Little said, adding that additional training is “foundational” to any credible effort against sexual assault.

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., planned to introduce legislation Thursday taking top commanders out of the process of deciding whether a sexual misconduct case goes to trial. For sexual offenses with authorized sentences of more than one year in confinement — akin to felonies in the civilian judicial system — that decision would rest instead with officers at ranks as low as colonel who are seasoned trial counsels with prosecutorial experience.

“`What we need to do is change the system so victims know that they can receive justice,” Gillibrand said Thursday on CBS “This Morning.”

In the latest case, the Texas sergeant, whose name has not been made public, was assigned as a coordinator of a battalion-level sexual assault prevention program at Fort Hood. He has been suspended from all duties and is under investigation the Army Criminal Investigation Command. No charges had been filed, but officials say they expect them fairly soon.

A defense official in Washington said it was not yet clear if one of the three women was forced into prostitution, adding that the sergeant is being investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting one of the other two women. The allegations involving the third woman were not known.

The official spoke only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Just last week, an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was himself arrested on charges of groping a woman in a Northern Virginia parking lot.